More than 100 paper hearts are taped to a wall in an office in the Cleveland County Courthouse. Each one symbolizes a child currently represented by Cleveland County’s Guardian ad Litem program who does not have a volunteer to represent them.

A Guardian ad Litem is a trained community volunteer who is appointed by a district court judge to be an advocate for children in court.

“We are appointed to every case of abuse and neglect where there’s a petition for custody,” said Dawn Stover, Cleveland County’s Guardian ad Litem program director.

Stover, a Rutherford County native, graduated from Gardner-Webb University in 2001 with her degree in criminal justice.

According to Stover, her involvement with Guardian ad Litem was “almost accidental.”

She wanted to work in law enforcement, but as a single parent, she couldn’t work the hours required for the job. Instead, Stover found herself working with the Department of Social Services.

Through her work with DSS, Stover found out about the Guardian ad Litem program and decided to get involved. After three and a half years at DSS, she became the program supervisor for Cleveland County’s Guardian ad Litem program.

In November 2011, Kelsie Costner joined Stover as an additional program supervisor. Stover focuses on volunteer training and recruitment, while both women handle cases and supervise about 40 volunteers.

Volunteers are vital to the Guardian ad Litem program.

“We need more volunteers,” Stover said. “In order to have the case coverage that we need, we need at least 25 more volunteers.”

How does it work?

Volunteers must go through an application and interview process and then complete a 30-hour training program before they can take on cases.

After the initial training, each volunteer is paired with a child or sibling group and follows their case until it is resolved. They typically spend four to eight hours a month visiting with their kids, attending court, making phone calls and submitting court reports.

Cleveland County volunteers work with Guardian ad Litem attorney Carol Walsburger to represent each child or sibling group when they go to court.

According to Stover, the program is successful because “we have judges that believe in the program.”

Cleveland County judges heavily rely on the information provided to them by Guardian ad Litem volunteers.

“The judges can make more informed decisions on the child’s well-being,” Stover said.

Guardian ad Litem is celebrating its 30th anniversary in North Carolina, and they need volunteers more than ever

“It is an opportunity for our community to represent our children," Stover said.

Dawn Stover, program supervisor, can be reached at h.dawn.stover@nccourts.org or 704-476-7821.

Who are some of the volunteers?

Rod Clouse

Rod Clouse has been a Guardian ad Litem volunteer for about 14 months. After he retired, he was looking for ways to have an impact on the community, so he attended the annual Connect, Commit to Change event and found out about Guardian ad Litem.

Clouse’s first case is coming close to conclusion, and he is looking forward to seeing one case come full circle.

Mitzi Price

Mitzi Price, of Shelby, has been a Guardian ad Litem volunteer for a little more than a year. Although she has always enjoyed working with children through church and at school, she thought that it would take too much time or that it would be emotionally draining. However, Price has found it to be precisely the opposite.

“I find it to be a very rewarding experience," she said.

Price has seen one case all the way through to completion, and is currently working on a case that involves two children.

Jerret Fite became a Guardian ad Litem volunteer “kind of on accident.” He knew that he wanted to volunteer with children and originally wanted to get involved with a mentorship program. However, when he found out about Guardian ad Litem, he knew he wanted to get involved.

The Kings Mountain man enjoys getting to experience the innocence of children, even knowing the backdrop of their family life. He has been a volunteer for two years and is currently working on his third case.

Fite would strongly encourage those interested in becoming a Guardian ad Litem to pursue it, however, he cautions would-be volunteers to make sure they have enough time before they commit.

“It takes some dedication to the program—some people don’t have the time," he said.

Diane Dooley

Diane Dooley has only been a Guardian ad Litem volunteer since February, but so far, she “likes it a lot.”

When she retired from the school system, Dooley felt that she needed a purpose, so she decided to volunteer with Guardian ad Litem. She is working on her first case, which involves two children.

Dooley enjoys “getting to know the young people and establishing a relationship with them.”

She would strongly encourage people to become a Guardian ad Litem volunteer.

“They only have so many volunteers, and they need support,” she said. “Anyone can do it.”